Far right leads first round of France’s parliamentary election
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party is projected to have won 34% in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, initial projections showed, per CNN.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance suffered staggering losses, coming third with 20.3% of the vote. The left-wing coalition of the New Popular Front (NFP) made a strong showing with 28.1% of the vote.
According to their projections, the far-right would win between 230 and 280 seats in the National Assembly, leaving it short of the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority.
Market players will keep an eye on the second round of elections on July 7. The RN will try to win an absolute majority to run the National Assembly without needing coalition partners.
Market reaction to French election 2024
At the time of press, the EUR/USD pair was up 0.20% on the day at 1.0735.
Euro FAQs
The Euro is the currency for the 20 European Union countries that belong to the Eurozone. It is the second most heavily traded currency in the world behind the US Dollar. In 2022, it accounted for 31% of all foreign exchange transactions, with an average daily turnover of over $2.2 trillion a day. EUR/USD is the most heavily traded currency pair in the world, accounting for an estimated 30% off all transactions, followed by EUR/JPY (4%), EUR/GBP (3%) and EUR/AUD (2%).
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Eurozone inflation data, measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), is an important econometric for the Euro. If inflation rises more than expected, especially if above the ECB’s 2% target, it obliges the ECB to raise interest rates to bring it back under control. Relatively high interest rates compared to its counterparts will usually benefit the Euro, as it makes the region more attractive as a place for global investors to park their money.
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